Report: North Korea fires missile into sea

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired a shortrange missile into the sea today, Seoul officials said, hours after the U.S., South Korean and Japanese leaders warned the North it will face tougher sanctions if it continues with provocations.

The surface-to-air missile fired from an eastern coastal area flew into waters off the North’s east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. It gave no further details.

The missile is the latest in a series of weapon launches by the North in an apparent response to ongoing military exercises between the United States and South Korea. North Korea views the drills as an invasion rehearsal.

This year’s drills, set to run until late April, are the biggest, and come after North Korea’s nuclear test and longrange rocket test earlier this year.

In Washington, President Barack Obama on Thursday met with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts and issued the warning before a two-day nuclear summit that opens today. Obama also met Chinese President Xi Jinping and both called for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. China also agreed to implement in full the latest economic restrictions imposed by the U.N. Security Council against Pyongyang.

On Tuesday, North Korea fired a short-range projectile that crashed on land in the country’s northeast, according to South Korean defense officials. The launch prompted media speculation in South Korea that Pyongyang may have used a land target to test the accuracy of its weapons. In the past, the North has usually fired missiles, artillery shells and rockets into the sea.